Friday, June 21, 2013

Tzitzimime, heavenly sent deamons

Tzitzimime are star deamons who devour men during eclipses. They have skeletal female bodies and wear skirts decorated with crossbones. These deities are worshiped by midwives and women about to give birth. The tzitzimime pay allegiance to Itzpapalotl (clawed butterfly) who ruled over the paradise world of Tamoanchan. Tamoanchan is the paradise for victims of infant mortality and also the place were humans were created from crushed bones and blood.

The tzitzimime can appear as beautiful seductive women or as horrible skeletal figures with clawed hands and obsidian tipped butterfly wings. Either form is equally dangerous as they will attempt to get close to their prey before revealing their true nature and attacking.

Tzitzimime are feared mostly during solar eclipses, but they can walk the earth in search of prey on other less ominous days. All trecena days beginning with westward days (1 Deer, 1 Rain, 1 Monkey, 1 House, and 1 Eagle) will experience greater tzitzimime presence. During those periods of thirteen days the tzitzimime and the less deadly cihuateteo roam the land in search of victims. The five Nemontemi days at the end of the year count (365 days) are particularly susceptible to tzitzimime activity.

Tzitzimime are creatures very similar to vampires. They will walk the land preferably at night or during solar eclipses. They are stars in the heavens when they do not walk this earth and just like stars they shine, but have no warmth. When in female human form they will be most charming and beautiful, but their cold skin will give them away. The hold an enthralling aura around them, a type of brightness that charms people, particularly men. The few who have survived have told stories of being pulled into a sea of stars as they stared into their eyes. When not in human form they can appear in their harpy type shape, clawed hands and eagle type feet, butterfly or bat wings with obsidian tips. They are also known to shape change into large bats as well.

They can see perfectly well at night and in pitch black darkness and are so strong they can easily fly away with a full grown man. Unless killed and burned to ashes they will regenerate and be reborn again the next evening. Their bones are particularly powerful in magic rituals. As inhabitants of Tamoanchan, where mankind was created from crushed bone and blood, their bones have power to animate and even create human like creatures. These bones and to a lesser degree their ashes can be used to create animated humans, undead or golems.

Tzitzimime will not transmit vampirism with their bite, although they may hypnotize or drain the blood of a victim to make them their servant. The can grant nahual (werecreature) powers of the deer or vampire bat to humans who willingly or unwillingly accept such powers. These nahual powers will eventually overpower the soul of the human who they afflict and said person will become a willing servant to the tzitzimime. For such a reason characters having such powers, for more benevolent reasons, may be confused with their more evil counterparts. Dark deer with glowing red or yellow eyes are seen every so often in the forests and are said to be the evil servants of tzitzimime left behind to do their bidding until their return on the next thirteen day period when they once again walk the lands.